This June, the first cohort students will graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. The series of interviews with the graduates from Class 2021 will show their stories with GTIIT in the past four years. Here is the story about Chen Zhuonan, a student of Class 2021 from Chemical Engineering Program.

Name: Chen Zhuonan

High school: Shantou No.1 High School

Program: Chemical Engineering

From being afraid of asking questions to being a program representative to help classmates give suggestions to the teachers, from being afraid of doing presentations in public to getting an excellent GPA score over 90... Chen Zhuonan is an optimistic and sunny girl who has a strong spirit to challenge herself constantly and break through difficulties on her way of growing up.

A happy journey at GTIIT

When she was in high school, Chen Zhuonan's mother introduced a world-renowned science and technology institution - Israel Institute of Technology to her. “I was surprised when I learned that its China campus was in my hometown Shantou. I believe I can improve my English greatly under GTIIT’s English teaching environment while studying science and technology program. What attract me most are the international faculty at GTIIT, who have rich experience both in teaching and research. Without hesitation, I choose to become one of the first cohort of GTIIT students and look forward to growing up with it."

Before studying at GTIIT, Chen Zhuonan thought that Chemical Engineering Program was just like chemistry class in high school, inseparable from chemical equations and calculation problems. After studying, she found that the Chemical Engineering Program at GTIIT was much more interesting than she had imagined. "We mainly study the chemical process and physical process in industrial production. It pays more attention to practical application and use many tables and formulas concluded through experience to transform the research results in laboratory into industrial production."

The practical and interesting courses benefit Chen Zhuonan a lot, and the professional and patient teachers helped her greatly in her study. "The professors and teaching assistants at GTIIT are wonderful. They are happy to see students ask questions, and are willing to solving our problems very patiently until we totally understand. They also like to share interesting things in their lives with us. We feel comfortable getting along with them like friends."

In her sophomore year, Chen Zhuonan thought it would be a great opportunity to serve as a program representative. It can help enhance her communication skills and English ability when talking with different professors, and also help classmates give suggestions to teachers at the same time. After being the program representative, Chen Zhuonan had a meeting with the dean every semester and often needed to collect classmates' opinions. "At first I was nervous, worried that my English was not good enough to communicate with the teachers, and they would think that we challenged their authority. Later, I found that my fears were completely unnecessary. Our teachers are very willing to listen to us and do their best to help us learn better."

How to become an excellent student?

Chen Zhuonan won the Dean's Scholarship for three consecutive years and maintained the excellent GPA score of over 90 for four years in the university. However, she had difficulties in asking questions in class and speaking in public at the very beginning.

"At first, I was worried that my English was not good enough and my professor would not understand my questions. I also feared that my questions would be thought stupid by other classmates. But gradually, I found that ‘asking questions in class’ is exactly the GTIIT style. So after four years’ training, I now think it is very common to ask questions."

Four years ago, Chen Zhuonan also found it hard speaking in public. "In the preparatory semester, I was so nervous that I couldn't do the presentation and even forgot my words when I saw my classmates. While in the four years at GTIIT, I had many opportunities to do presentations in public. Now I’ve already know how to adjust my voice and gesture, and how to make eye contact with the audience."

There are always a lot of homework and exams at the end of every semester, but Chen Zhuonan always has a way to adjust herself. "Assignments, presentations, projects and exams all come together, so I need to make a plan in advance. I also encourage myself not to worry and things will work out finally."

Sitting in the front row and taking notes selectively -- these are the two key points of Chen Zhuonan’s study method. "Listen to the teacher carefully, otherwise what the teacher says can easily turn into meaningless English words. So sitting in the front row and interacting with the teacher in class can help you concentrate in class." Chen Zhuonan also added that it was important to take notes selectively. "The points that teachers have emphasized many times should be marked out so that it will be much more convenient to review. After class, I will summarize the content of the class in my mind and make a rough knowledge network. When it comes to the review at the end of the semester, I will make a formal summary of each lesson, compare each knowledge point, list the error-prone points, and read them several times within an hour before the exam."

Chen Zhuonan advises junior students to start making plans in their sophomore year and arrange their extracurricular life and holidays according to their future direction. "In sophomore year, you can do internship and study GRE. In junior year, you can take IELTS exams and participate in the research project. It is time to prepare for your application for postgraduate university at the beginning of the second semester of junior year."

Enjoy doing research and volunteering

In the junior year, Chen Zhuonan joined Prof. Moris Eisen's lab and participated in the project of synthesizing new nano filtration membranes from polysulfone. "In this process, I find that there are too many uncertain factors in chemical experiments. For example, there are many ways to synthesize a substance, and their effects can only be compared after characterization. If the characterization doesn't work well, we have to look for other literature to see if there is any solution."

Chen Zhuonan has been studying in Prof. Moris Eisen's lab for two years. After graduation, she will go to the Technion to pursue a master's degree in Chemistry Program, to challenge more possibilities on her way of study.

In addition to her busy study life, Chen Zhuonan also participates in various extracurricular activities and has won GTIIT’s Extracurricular Activities Scholarship. "There are many interesting activities at GTIIT. In my freshman and sophomore year, I often participated in them as a volunteer, such as ice-breaking activities and Mid-Autumn Festival party. I also served as a peer mentor for Cohort 2018 juniors. These activities developed my interpersonal skills, organization and planning capabilities, and let me meet a lot of friends."

Chen Zhuonan still recalls her experience as a volunteer at the Asian Science Camp. "I formed sincere friendships with many of the guests of the same age, and experienced the charm of multiculture and broadened my horizon from this activity. In the exhibition of Chinese traditional culture, I was responsible for translating for a master who inherited the bottle painting technique, and introducing our traditional bottle painting of Chaoshan to guests from other countries and areas. The master's exquisite skills and beautiful patterns were praised by the guests, and the bottle painting handicrafts were soon sold out. The master was very happy and gave me the last snuff bottle with a picture inside. I have learned claborate-style painting for many years, so it is very memorable."

Text/Photos: GTIIT News & Public Affairs